Book-to-Screen Adaptations Coming 2025
by Cameron Gibson
Get ahead of these soon-to-be-released adaptations before they hit screens.
Shop this article: https://bookshop.org/lists/culture-readin-magazine *affiliate linkOnce a solitary hobby, reading has been socialized thanks to platforms like BookTok, where book lovers across the globe can share their thoughts, theories, and dream castings of their favourite novels. This means casting directors have no easy job satisfying passionate fans of the latest optioned titles. But, from Tom Blythe as Alex in People We Meet on Vacation to Jenna Ortega as Klara in Klara & The Sun it seems they’re on top of their game.
Some of our favourite directors including Challengers’ Luca Guadagnino and The Lost Daughter’s Maggie Gyllenhaal have chosen to take on literary adaptations this year, as well as first-timers Kristen Stewart and Rebecca Lenkiewicz, so there’s a lot to look forward to. Keep reading to find out which books you need to get your hands on before their adaptations hit the screen.
Hot Milk
Directed by: Rebecca Lenkiewicz
Release: 2025
Starring: Emma Mackey, Fiona Shaw, Vicky Krieps
Filming in Greece wrapped mid-last year and with a rumoured festival debut, we can expect to see this hit theatres in the not-too-distant future. Hot Milk will be the directorial debut for Lenkiewicz, who is the screenwriter behind the 2022 film She Said, which chronicled the Me Too inducing reporting of Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey - the journalist behind the recent Justin Baldoni/Blake Lively exposé.
About the Book: Hot Milk by Deborah Levy follows a young woman (Mackey) who accompanies her mysteriously ill mother (Shaw) to the south of Spain to receive treatment from the eccentric Dr. Gomez.
People We Meet on Vacation
Directed by: Brett Haley
Release: as yet unknown (Netflix)
Starring: Emily Bader, Tom Blyth with Jameela Jamil, Lucas Gage, Lucien Laviscount
With the leading roles announced in August last year, we could very well be seeing this hotly anticipated romcom hit our Netflix feeds before the end of 2025, and the people behind this film are no strangers to a book adaptation. From the director of All The Bright Places (Elle Fanning, Justice Smith), to leads Emily Bader (My Lady Jane) and Tom Blythe (The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes), this is sure to be a hit.
About the Book: People We Meet on Vacation is the hugely popular romance novel by Emily Henry which follows Poppy (Bader) and Alex (Blythe), two unlikely best friends who until two years ago, took a yearly vacation together. Now, after years of not speaking, they’re going to try one more time. But there’s something weighing between them.
Queer
Directed by: Luca Guadagnino
Release: US, you already have this one! Australia, this hits theatres on February 1st
Starring: Daniel Craig, Drew Starkey, Omar Apollo
After debuting at the Venice Film Festival in September, Queer has since had a limited release in theatres across the US and UK. But Australians have been eagerly awaiting their turn to see the latest project from the Challengers director. Good news! The steamy film is set to hit Australian screens in February.
About the Book: Set in 1940s Mexico City, Queer is a 1985 novella by the influential writer and artist William S. Burroughs. It follows a man named William (Craig) who, while going through heroin withdrawals, falls for a heroin user named Eugene (Starkey).
The Bride!
Directed by: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Release: September 26, 2025
Starring: Christian Bale, Jessie Buckley, Penelope Cruz
This will be Gyllenhaal’s second directorial project following the success of her debut, The Lost Daughter. Based on the 1818 gothic novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, The Bride! is a musical sci-fi horror set in 1930s Chicago in which the monster (Bale) seeks a companion (Buckley).
About the Book: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a revolutionary text in which Shelley, who was seventeen at the time of writing, raised questions about humanity that are still explored today. When Dr. Viktor Frankenstein succeeds in creating an autonomous being, it is more hideous than he could have imagined.
Guillermo Del Toro is also directing an adaptation of Frankenstein for Netflix which is set for release in 2025. With a star-studded cast that includes Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, and Oscar Isaac, the film will be a more traditional retelling of the original story.
The Chronology of Water
Directed by: Kristen Stewart
Release: as yet unknown
Starring: Imogen Poots
The long-awaited directorial debut, which the Oscar-nominated actress threatened to quit acting to get up and running, wrapped filming in July of 2024 and is now in post-production. Stewart will also share screenwriting credits with Andy Mingo, the partner of Lidia Yuknavitch who authored The Chronology of Water.
About the Book: The Chronology of Water by Lidia Yuknavitch is a memoir detailing and reclaiming Yuknavitch’s tumultuous life, from her earliest memories of childhood to her complicated adulthood. It is described as “an in-depth exploration of sexuality, of creativity, an unflinching stare at all the gory details of having a female body…”
The Housemaid
Directed by: Paul Feig
Release: December 25, 2025
Starring: Sydney Sweeney, Amanda Seyfried, Brandon Sklenar
The ‘A Simple Favour’ director’s latest book adaptation takes on the hugely popular, New York Times bestselling thriller by Freida McFadden. With a star-studded cast and Christmas day release, there’s no doubt everyone will be talking about this film.
About the Book: The Housemaid by Freida McFadden follows Millie (Sweeney), a struggling young woman who takes a job as a housemaid for a wealthy couple, Nina (Seyfried) and Andrew (Sklenar). But she soon discovers this promising fresh start is rife with dark and dangerous secrets.
Klara and the Sun
Directed by: Taika Waititi
Release: Late 2025
Starring: Jenna Ortega, Amy Adams, Natasha Lyonne
This hugely popular novel that raises questions about the nature of humanity is in perfect hands with Oscar-winning Taika Waititi. Filming in New Zealand wrapped early last year so we can expect to see this hit screens in the Southern Hemisphere’s Spring.
About the Book: Kazuo Ishiguro’s New York Times’ bestseller, Klara and the Sun, follows Klara (Ortega), an ‘Artificial Friend’ designed to cure loneliness, who is purchased by a mother (Adams) for her ill daughter. Klara is set on protecting the daughter and everyone around her from being hurt and in the process, learns the power of human love.
We know it’s controversial to call the movie better than the book, but with so many incredible titles being turned into equally incredible-looking films this year, we’ll forgive you for thinking they come pretty close.